SPU women's soccer team leaves no room for regret

Camaraderie, work, focus fuel unbeaten Falcons

By DEREK BELT, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, November 2, 2007

Chat up a Seattle Pacific University women's soccer player at the campus bookstore, in a Queen Anne coffee shop, or on the practice field at Interbay Stadium, and you'd never guess the Falcons are 19-0 and ranked second in the nation in NCAA Division II.

That's because soccer is just soccer to these women.

"No one has a big head," said junior midfielder Meredith Teague. "We know we have a 19-0 (record), but going into each game we don't act like it. We act like we're down or something."

The Falcons have seldom been in that position this season, scoring goals and notching wins at a blistering pace. SPU's 19-match winning streak is the longest in the country. The only other undefeated team is top-ranked Grand Valley State, which is 17-0.

On Saturday, the Falcons wrap up the regular season at Northwest Nazarene. NCAA tournament pairings will be announced on Monday, and SPU will host first- and second-round games Nov. 8 and 10. The top-seeded Falcons have a first-round bye.

"I think that the record we have shows that we don't need to change to be successful," said Sekyra, a 1989 SPU graduate in his fourth season as coach. "That's the greatest thing about our regular season. We can get it done. That's what we've proven."

The numbers don't lie.

The Falcons have outscored opponents 50-9 this season, posting about four times as many shots on goal (352 to 90) and corner kicks (133 to 27) as their opponents. Senior forward Sarah Martinez recently broke conference career records for goals (48) and points scored (116), and she ranks second in the conference in both categories this season, netting 16 goals with five assists.

But Martinez, like the rest of her teammates, wants none of the glory.

"No one person is going to take credit for the wins," she said.

Two years ago the Falcons were unbeaten and ranked No. 2 when they lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Nebraska-Omaha in the national championship game. This club fields seven starters who played in that match, and many believe their playoff experience will be a key factor this time around.

"Just knowing how it felt to get there and to lose so close is definitely the driver of why we want to get there again," Martinez said.

With a possession-based offense that's loaded with talent -- Teague's 13 assists rank second in conference history for a season -- and a swarming defense that prides itself on keeping opponents far from the net, SPU is one of the favorites to capture the national title Dec. 1 in Orange Beach, Ala.

"We don't talk about wins or losses very much. We talk about no regrets," Sekyra said. "We want to look back in December and say, 'You know what, there wasn't one single game where we didn't come and give it our all.' "

The players say they're just having fun.

"I think our team's so humble because we're so tight outside of soccer that it's just something we do together," goalkeeper Jesslyn Rahm said. "Nobody really goes around bragging about it. Usually it's kind of awkward when someone asks, 'How's your season going?' We'll say, 'Oh, it's going good.' We're not going to say we're 19-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation."